Lainey heads straight for the bar in the back. Meanwhile, I am scanning the room for anyone we might know. Or, more accurately, anyone who might knowus.
“Why do you look so nervous?” she asks.
“Brynn and Rachel are down there,” I point out, whipping around so my back is to the ring.
“So? We’re allowed to be here.”
“What if we see Niko?” I ask.
“Niko can kiss my ass,” she says, winking at the bartender as he hands her a Cosmo. “I am off the clock.”
The bartender nods up at me with a smirk, and I have to admit, he’s pretty cute. Young, though, which means he’s probably immature. “What’ll it be, gorgeous?” he asks.
“I’ll take a Diet Coke,” I answer.
“Diet Coke and…?” he asks, holding up a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of rum.
“Just the soda,” I answer with a smile. Lainey isn’t smiling.
“Are you for real? You need a drink. You’re clearly wound up right now.”
I shrug. “I’m fine. I’m good with plain soda.”
When they both see that I’m not going to budge, he pours my drink and Lainey shakes her head. Honestly, the very idea of running into Dominic again has my stomach in knots. Adding alcohol to that doesn’t seem like the best idea.
After we both have our drinks, we thread our way through the crowd in search of seats. Lainey points at two open chairs halfway down the floor.
“That’s way too close,” I say.
“It’s above the well-to-dos, but close enough that I can see the sweat on their brows. It’s perfect,” she insists over the roar of the crowd. Before I can protest, she’s leading me in that direction.
We sit down, and I focus on the ring for the first time. I immediately recognize one of the men.
“That’s him,” I lean in to tell Lainey. “That’s the guy who harassed me.”
“Well, he’s pretty damn good-looking,” she smiles. “Even if he is a bully.”
She’s not wrong, but he also gives me some seriously bad vibes and the creeps. A second later he plows into the other guy in the ring, taking him clean to the floor, and everyone in the room roars with cheers before coming to their feet. Instinctively, we jump up. A bell rings, and a smaller man walks up to Rafe, grabs his arm, and holds it up in the air. With a bloody mouth and hard eyes, Rafe nods and beats his chest with his other fist, egging on the already eruptive crowd.
Lainey is laughing and clapping, and I start smiling too. It fades as soon as I see Dominic standing at the bottom of the ring. He’s in his black shorts and shoes, and his hands are wrapped in black tape. He is talking to a guy I recognize as his friend from the other day.
“Oh, my god is that him?” Lainey asks, her eyes no doubt following mine.
“Yeah,” I say.
“Damn, girl.”
And damn, girl is right. Watching him from here is different than it was before. For one, I’m not holding a tray of drinks trying to focus on who is who while avoiding catcalls. And also, I’m not standing right in front of him, so I don’t have to avoid staring. We are far enough away that I can allow my eyes to trail from the top of his tousled hair down his furrowed brow, over his sharp jawline, past his hard pecs, through the ravines of his perfectly sculpted abs, and down the V that leads to the elastic of his shorts.
“Fuck,” I let out before realizing that I am saying it out loud. Lainey just laughs.
“You fucked that…” she says, leaning in, and I feel the heat rise to my cheeks.
Yeah I did. Every bit of it.
The round starts, Dominic fighting against some young blonde kid. I mean, he’s probably older than me, but he’s younger than Dom. Come to think of it, every guy I’ve seen in and out of the ring is younger than Dom by at least a decade. That doesn’t seem to stop him from taking the lead in every match.
A smile tugs across my lips.
